


Waking Up, No. 6

by stonegirl77



Series: Waking Up [6]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Injury
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-28
Updated: 2014-12-28
Packaged: 2018-03-04 00:46:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,962
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2903162
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stonegirl77/pseuds/stonegirl77
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The reader, Natasha Romanov's sister, wakes up to her sister cursing in Russian. Too bad she doesn't speak it...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Waking Up, No. 6

**Author's Note:**

> So this is technically a Waking Up with Natasha, but it's also majorly StevexReader. And as always when I write Steve Rogers, this turned into a bit of a monster. Continue at your own risk...

I woke up to a voice swearing in Russian. Nat kept after me to learn the language, but I never really had the time - the world kept ending. I could understand a few words, though. Somehow, swears have a way of sticking with you, regardless of language, and I definitely understood the tone. 

Natasha must have sensed that I was awake, because she switched to English. “You little idiot, what were you thinking?” She kept up the abuse, the talking to keep me awake as I fluttered open my eyes. Nat was kneeling next to me behind a piece of building. There were always pieces of building left when the Avengers fought something. Especially in New York. I tried to look around, but a pain in my neck stopped me. Now I thought about it, most of my body was in pain.

I reached up to brush my hair out of my eyes. Natasha was still talking, there were still noises of fighting around us, rubble crumbling, punches connecting, people swearing. “Nat.” I interrupted. “Nat, tell me what’s going on.”

She didn’t stop talking, just put an earpiece in my ear. Suddenly I heard the rest of the team. “She’s up, people,” Nat said, and finally stopped.

“Hey, little Romanov,” Tony said. “Glad to hear you’re awake.”

“Idiot.” That was Barton.

“Hi Tony,” I said back. “Hi Jerk.”

“Romy!” Sam Wilson called.

“Michelle!” I responded. I hated the nickname. But I guess I deserved the ribbing I’d get later. I’d been an idiot, jumping into the fray to try and help the Avengers. I’d only tried to get people out of the way, but I still knew I was in for the world’s worst after-action report. Kid sisters of the Avengers didn’t get cut much slack.

“Natasha,” It was Steve. Of course he wasn’t talking to me right now. I shut my eyes. “We need you out here. Can you leave her?”

“I’m fine,” I said over the same frequency. “Go, Nat.” Nat gave me a look. I shoved her away. “Go on,” I said softly, not over the radio. “I’ll be fine. Go help Steve.”

She mumbled something else in Russian as she stood smoothly. “I’m sending over a med team,” she told me, and vanished into the distance.

 

“What the hell were you thinking?” That was Tony, gesturing expansively with his scotch. “Earth’s greatest heroes were on it. And kicking ass, I might add. And you thought one little, barely-trained SHIELD agent would help how, exactly?”

I couldn’t exactly get up, not with my leg in a cast. I’d managed to break it, and a few ribs when the alien had crushed me against a wall, not to mention getting a few hundred bruises. But I couldn’t not talk. I levered myself up a bit, leaning on the table. “There was a restaurant there, Stark,” I snarled, from pain and impatience. “A restaurant. Filled with civilians. Children. And a freaking Build-A-Bear next door. How could I not go in?” I sank back into my chair.

“You still should have called in a SHIELD team,” Steve said. He was on the opposite side of the table. We hadn’t spoken much since the incident. 

“I did,” I said, just as softly. “It was on its way. But there wasn’t time.”

“Still,” he said, and, with that one word, I’d had it. I pulled the crutches out from under the table and stood as best as I could. The crutches were taking some getting used to, but I swatted Sam away. 

“You’re all idiots,” I told them, letting my eyes sweep over all the Avengers. “Each and every one of you would have done exactly the same thing. It’s not my fault I’m more breakable than a superhero. It’s not my fault I’m still in training. I’m a SHIELD agent. It’s my job to get hurt so other people don’t have to.” 

I moved off towards the door, then turned. “Either let me do my job, or reassign me.” I got all the way to the doorway before I whispered the rest. “I’ll even fill in the transfer form for you.”

I made it to the elevator and closed it before I let my tears escape. I’d miss Tash - I hadn’t known I had a sister for very long. And the others? I didn’t let myself think about them as I retreated to my office and locked the door.

 

Back at the briefing room…

“She’s right,” Natasha told the boys, who were still speechlessly looking after me. “If it were any other SHIELD agent, you might yell at them for two seconds, then give up. She was just doing her job. I wouldn’t be surprised if she transfers somewhere on the other side of the world to get away from you all.” She glared at Tony, then at Steve. “And I’ll have to rack up long distance miles just to see my sister. Thanks for that.” She stood, and Clint stood with her, of course.

“If you want her to stay, apologise, and fast. She’ll probably have that damn transfer request on Coulson’s desk by tomorrow morning, and you know she has him wrapped around her little finger.” She pointed at Tony, then at Steve. “You two, come with me.” Barton quirked an eyebrow. She just gave a minuscule smile. Of course Clint would be listening in, probably from the vents.

She stalked to Stark’s lounge. It was well-appointed, with a killer view, and great booze. She poured herself a glass, then turned to the men. Stark was outwardly unconcerned, of course. Steve looked like someone had just kicked his favourite puppy. She snorted inwardly. Why her sister had to go and and fall for the supersoldier, she had no idea. 

And of course the attraction was mutual, even though Rogers didn’t have the guts to admit it. He did manage to avoid Nat’s attempts to set him up ably enough, though.

But Tony was first. “Stark.” Tony looked up from pouring his own drink. “I know you’ve watched her grow up. I know you’ve known her even longer than I have. But she’s a grown up now. An agent. You’ve got to let her make mistakes. Get over it, now, or you’ll regret it.”

Stark looked at her blankly. She moved the two steps necessary to poke him in the chest. “You’ll regret it,” she repeated, “As in, if you hurt my baby sister, I will make your life painful.” She smiled a little. “And you know I can. I have access to Pepper.” She turned to Steve. “Now leave, Stark. Captain Rogers and I need to have a little talk…”

 

 

It was a few hour after the Briefing Incident, as I had taken to calling it, and I was staring at a blank transfer form. I’d been staring at it for the past fifteen minutes. I knew I should fill it out, fill it out and plant it on Coulson’s office and demand I be reassigned. I’d be damned before I was yelled at like that again for just doing my job. 

My pen hovered over the form, and, with a sigh, I started. Last name, Romanov. I’d miss Nat. But we’d see each other. Probably fly a lot. My door opened, and Tony Stark walked in.

“Come to yell at me some more, Tony?” I asked, surprised by how dead my voice sounded. As hard as I tried, I wasn’t Natasha. I couldn’t listen to people I cared about sound so disappointed in me without something breaking inside me. I moved on to the next section of the form.

“The opposite, actually, kiddo,” he said, coming to stand behind my desk. He saw the form. “So you really want a transfer?”

I flipped over the paper and turned in my chair, not able to look at him. “I don’t know what else to do, Tony. If you all are going to stop me from doing my job, I need to be somewhere else.” His shoes were dirty, I noticed. 

“Natasha yelled at us, you know,” Tony said, conversationally. “She told us that it would serve us right if you packed up and moved to China.” He chuckled. “You should have seen Steve’s face.” My heart leapt to my throat, then dove into my stomach again. Steve. Tony went on. “And I think she expects me to pay for all of her flights to go see you, as well.”

I could finally look at Tony. “So that’s it, then?” I asked.

He shook his head violently. “Gods, no, kid.” He gave me a hug. “This was meant to be an apology, actually.”

“Hmmm” I said against his shoulder. Tony always gave the best hugs. 

“I know, I know,” he said, letting me go. “I suck at apologies. Pepper keeps telling me.”

“So?”

“So?” he repeated, confused. 

“Apology?” I reminded him.

He knelt in front of me, grinning. “Miss Romanov, I deeply apologise.” I was already giggling. “I apologise for being unjust, for yelling at you when you were only doing what I would have done, but better.”

“You’re forgiven, idiot,” I said, smiling at the billionaire.

“Now, you have a present waiting for you upstairs,” he said. “Never let it be said that Tony Stark does not give the best apology presents in the entire world.”

I smiled, then turned glum again. “Never again, right, Tony?” He looked up on his way out. “One more stunt like that and I’ll have the transfer to Coulson in an hour.”

“Fair enough.” He grinned at me. “Glad you’re staying.” I had to smile.

“Me too.”

 

 

 

I’d left the transfer form on my desk, upside down, when I’d left to get coffee. That much I could do without the crutches. I had an after-action report to write, and I needed the caffeine. Coming back, someone was in my office.

“Steve?” No one could mistake his outline for anyone else’s. He turned, paper in hand, and I realised what it must be. “Snooping, Cap?” I asked as lightly as I could, plucking the paper out from Steve’s fingers as I hobbled around my desk. No one needed to know how my heart sped when I was near Captain America. Especially not Captain America.

I looked at the paper. Of course it was my transfer request, only the last name filled out. “Tony got to me before I could finish it,” I said, sitting down with a sigh.

“How’s the leg?” Of all the questions to ask. 

“It’s fine.” I said, then elaborated at Steve’s look. “It’s healing. I’m taking my meds.” Sort of. I always tried to take the minimum pain meds. Most of the time I got away with it. 

We sat in silence for a minute. I sipped my coffee, waiting for Steve to say something, anything, looking him over. Perfect, as always, from too-tight shirt to wind-ruffled hair. Damn it.

“I’m sorry,” he said, as I was taking another sip. I almost choked, and Steve was halfway around my desk before I could get a hand up to shoo him back. I coughed a few more times, then motioned for him to go on. I took another sip of coffee to quell my burning throat. More cautiously, this time.

“I’m sorry,” he repeated, and I could feel him wanting to ask if I was ok. He didn’t, thank goodness. “I shouldn’t have spoken to you like that, in the briefing. Or ignored you, during. You were just doing your job.”

“Did Tasha tell you to say that?” Of course Nat knew about my little crush on the good Captain, and I was somewhat suspicious of her motives.

“Not as such,” Steve actually blushed, and I wondered what Nat had actually told him. We sat in silence another moment. “So you’re not leaving, then?” The way he said it, the catch in his voice on the last word, I could almost kid myself into believing he didn’t want me gone.

“Nope,” I said. “Although I warned Tony, and now I’m warning you. One more stunt like the one you guys pulled and I’m gone.”

Steve just looked back at me, giving me the puppy-dog eyes. “It won’t happen again,” he promised. I waited for him to go like Tony had, and saw the darndest thing. Steve looked up at the intake vent, then swallowed hard. I glanced up as well. Clint was looking down at me.

“Beat it, Barton,” I said with a smile, giving him the finger. “Nat can pull the feed from JARVIS if she really wants to know what happened. Don’t make life easy for her.”

“I’m telling her you said that,” he said, voice echoing from all the metal around him. “Later Idiot One, Idiot Two.”

“Bye, jerk.” I said. Then I looked back at Steve. “So why’re you an idiot now?”

Steve looked at his hands, now laced together in his lap. “Because Natasha didn’t tell me to go and apologise. Well she did.” He ran a hand through his hair, and I realised what was going on. Steve Rogers was at a loss for words. It was, unusual. And adorable.

“What did she say?” I said, and my voice was softer than usual. 

“She said,” Steve said, raising his eyes to look at me. Then he grinned, and I couldn’t breathe for a second. “She said that if I didn’t go and tell you how I felt, today, she’d never let me get a chance with you.” He chuckled. “Actually, her exact words were ‘Man up and tell her, Rogers, today. Or else I will guarantee that the only person you will be kissing is Sam.’”

I laughed. That sounded like Nat. Then I processed what she’d said, and what Steve had said. “How you feel?” I asked, voice still soft. Steve leaned forward, and was cut off by the desk. Any other man would have cursed. Steve just shot it a look, telling the desk without speaking that it was a detriment to freedom, justice, and the American way, and walked around it to kneel in front of me, just as Tony had earlier.

I was struck by the differences between the two men. Steve was a good head and a half-taller - he was almost as tall as I was sitting. And whereas I hadn’t been able to look at Tony when he’d come close to me, I couldn’t seem to stop staring at Steve. Into his eyes, at his lips, his shoulders, then the whole circuit again. He reached out and took one of my hands in both of his.

“I’m not quite sure how to do this,” he confessed, looking me right in the eye. “Things have changed so much since the forties, and you know I don’t exactly date much.” My heart leapt at the word date, and I know Steve must have felt it, my wrist covered by his hands. His eyes brightened.

“How about start by telling me how you feel?” I suggested, voice breathy. 

“How I feel,” he mused, grinning now. “Well, _______,” he said. “At this very moment, I can tell you that my heart is pounding just as fast as yours is, maybe faster. I am,” he paused, searching for the word. “Insanely glad you aren’t leaving the team - that I get to spend more time with you. I’m annoyed at your sister. I’m hoping I didn’t screw up any chance with you by acting like a jerk earlier.” His voice dropped in volume, and I almost didn’t hear the last part. “And I’m thinking I’d very much like to kiss you.” His eyes didn’t move from mine. “I’d very much like to promise to protect you, Agent Romanov. But I know you won’t let me. So I’ll ask you something else.” I nodded. “Do you think you could take care of my heart?” he asked. “Because I seem to have given it to you, and I don’t know what I’d do if I lost it. Or you.”

I didn’t know what to say. It was really too sickeningly sweet, what he’d said. But at the same time, it was so perfectly romantic. And it was Steve. I leaned forward, caressing his cheek with my free hand. He leaned into the touch, and the breath I’d been holding, the possibility that I’d been too forward, vanished. 

“On one condition,” I said, mere inches separating our faces now, and I thought about his comment about wanting to kiss me. “I will look after your heart more than gladly, on one condition.” Steve smiled, and I felt the muscles move underneath my hand. 

“Name it.”

“That you’ll look after mine.” I grinned. “You seem to have stolen mine, and I’m pretty certain I don’t want it back.” And then he was kissing me, pulling my chair closer so I didn’t have to lean forward, wrapping one arm around my waist while the other moved around the back of my neck. 

I kissed back, twisting my hands into his hair as I’d been longing to do for months, matching the motions of his lips with mine. 

Then a wolf whistle jerked us apart. Tony was standing in the door, Tash next to him. They both looked smug. I turned bright red, and buried my face into Steve’s shoulder. It was apparently the correct reaction for Steve, who hummed contentedly and pulled me closer. 

“Get lost, Stark. You too, Nat.”

I looked up again just in time to see Steve Rogers flipping off Tony Stark as he and Nat vanished, closing the door behind them. 

“You are such a bad influence on me,” Steve murmured into my ear, making me shiver. 

“Always,” I told him, and pulled his lips back to mine.


End file.
